Archive for Walt Disney World

Today is Throwback Thurdsay and we are going old school Pleasure Island circa 1989 with a “vintage” Pleasure Island button. Ahhhh, the good old days.

Many of my nights were spent dancing on the spinning dance floor of Mannequins. I loved Mannequins they played great music and entering the club from the third floor was a way to make an entrance. And thanks to the ventilation system you could dance all night and come out smelling like hairspray instead of smoke.

I miss having a place where you could be surrounded by just adults on Disney property and have some fun with friends or meet new friends. Besides Mannequins, there was the Comedy Warehouse where Disney Cast Members were parodied in skits, the Adventurers Club where you could sip a Kungaloosh while your elephant leg bar stool would rise and fall at will, and the Fireworks Factory where you could get Cherry Bombs that were lethal. And it was Mardi Gras every night in the street!!!! Lots of other clubs came and went with the various trends of America and the ticketing went from a cover charge for the whole Pleasure Island area to opening the gates and charging at each club and the street was a thorough fare for the West Side – just for the record, it isn’t as much fun to be thrust into a child friendly environment after a few cocktails and you’ve been dancing up a storm in a club. But the initial concept (in my opinion, and I am most definitely biased) was the best.

For those of you who are too young to remember the golden age of Pleasure Island, I’m sorry you missed out on a good time that I don’t foresee being replaced anything soon. I am however looking forward to the opening of Disney Springs to see if even an iota of the magic of the old Pleasure Island can be recreated.

Disney World has released a promotion today including free dining for select dates and resorts during the months of September through December.

Offer is available for most nights August 28 – Oct 2, Oct 25-31, Nov 8-19, and Dec 15-21. This must be booked between the dates of April 27-July 10, 2015.

When you stay at a moderate or deluxe resort, you receive the Disney Plus Dining plan that includes a table service, counter service, and snack (one per person, per night of the stay). When staying at a value resort Quick Serve Dining is included which includes two quick serve meals and one snack (per person, per night of the stay). Guests staying at a value resort can upgrade to the Plus Dining plan for a fee.

The number of rooms allocated for this offer is limited. Packages must include tickets that have either a Park Hopper or Water Park Fun & More Option. Offer excludes the following resorts: Villas at Grand Floridian, Disney’s Polynesian Villas and Bungalows, Bay Lake Tower, Disney’s Art of Animation Little Mermaid standard rooms, campsites, 3 bedroom villas, Disney’s All Star Movies, Port Orleans Riverside (for certain dates), and Port Orleans French Quarter.

I’m excited to announce the launch of Visit the Magic Travel. To celebrate, I am offering a $25 gift card to anyone who books a Disney vacation between today and March 31, 2015. As a bonus, if you refer someone who books a Disney vacation with Visit the Magic you will receive a $25 gift card on your next vacation. (see details below).

Did you know that when you book a Disney vacation through Visit the Magic that it will cost you the same as if you booked it direct with Disney? There are no fees or upcharges involved when booking a vacation with Visit the Magic. What you will get is great service and the knowledge of someone who has been traveling to Disney World for over fifteen years.

Meet the Owner – My name is Nicole Riley. I have been planning Disney vacations for about three years as my job. Before that, it was a hobby of mine to help plan trips for other people. My first trip was with my husband in 1999. I knew nothing about Disney World and thoroughly enjoyed researching and planning for the trip. Since then, I have been on over 35 Disney vacations with family, friends, and extended family. I have been married for 20 years and have two daughters – 17 and 14. I look forward to helping you plan your perfect vacation. Email me at Nicole@visitthemagic.com if I can answer any questions for you.

*Promotion valid on bookings made 3/1- 3/31, 2015. Offer valid on 2015 vacations only. In order to qualify for the promotion, a minimum $1500 package consisting of room and a minimum of 3 day park tickets must be booked. Gift cards will be mailed at time of travel. For referral gift cards, the referrer will receive their gift cards on their next book AFTER the referral has traveled. Valid on new bookings only. Offer valid on Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, Aulani, or Adventures By Disney. Be sure to mention this promotion when booking.

Today, we have a late start, since a little Recovery Time from the past few days is in order. While the garlic helped, Ethan is still sick.

I spend my time reading, animal watching, and Facebooking.

By the time Ethan is awake enough to eat, I am able to run down to Mara for lunch instead of breakfast. We eat on the balcony.

He got a turkey sandwich, I got allergy chicken tenders, and I asked for an order of GF zebra domes.

We finally get it together and take the bus to Hollywood Studios.

Sorcerer Mickey meet up is first on our list. Mickey had followed the last people off to the side to finish his conversation, so Ethan and I just posed for the photographer. Then Mickey photobombed us!

Then we headed over to meet Minnie. I loved the décor in her room!

I’m pretty sure I’ve said before how much we love to draw at the Animation Academy. This trip, we drew Tigger. Mine is the “fat” Tigger.

I love the Streetmosphere performers. We haven’t been able to catch too many of their performances though, since we’re always running around, trying to show Ethan everything there is. I’m hoping that, the more trips we make, the easier it will be to slow down and schedule these performances in.

We head over to the American Idol Experience. This isn’t a must do (good thing, since it’s now gone) but it was fun to watch.

Muppets 3D was next – I adore this show, especially the pre-show!

Ethan gets to meet Lightning & Mater.

How did I become the photographer in this relationship???

Star Tours
American Idol finale show (We wanted to see the woman we voted for, and who won, during the earlier show. She won the finale.)
Fantasmic – rained out – well, we got to see the first 5 minutes. I’m not sure being rained on while sick is a good idea…

We decided to take the boat to the BoardWalk and see about eating at Big River Grille for dinner. The food here is always good. We crack ourselves up by ordering hot tea and guacamole and chips. Yeah, those go together…

We both ordered the New York Strip – 8oz. USDA Choice New York strip steak, served with garlic mashed potatoes and vegetables $18.99

After dinner, we are toast. I’m coming down with Ethan’s cold now. We take a cab back to AKL and bed.

The rest of our day at the Magic Kingdom is an interesting mix of rides and events. There doesn’t seem to be a lot of rhyme or reason in our movements…

We take the train from the front of the park over to Frontierland. Here we see a squirrel being fed by some people.

We ride Big Thunder Mountain and try to do Tom Sawyer’s Island, but the line is pretty long.

How about we head into Adventureland for Ethan’s First Dole Whip?

Please notice that Ethan’s shirt appears to be soaked. That is because, as we stood in line for the Dole Whips, the skies opened up for a 20 minutes monsoon. Ethan was on one side of the stand in line, I was on the other (divide and conquer). My side had the advantage in 2 lines were open and we had cover to get out of the rain. Ethan’s side was using HIM as cover! We were texting to see who was getting closer to the front of the line and he came over when we realized mine was the better side.

Haunted Mansion
Ariel’s Grotto
Journey of the Little Mermaid

Yeah, I don’t know what we’re doing either…

Back to Adventureland! We meet Rosetta (?) and Tinkerbell.

Over to the Tiki Room and I’m starting to lose my mind –

Pirates of the Carribbean
Peter Pan’s flight

Trying something new tonight, we decide to watch Wishes from New Fantasyland! I’m standing out in the courtyard and Ethan goes and sits down against the wall. I want to be out though where I can look in every direction. So I’m spinning around, trying to catch every explosion wherever it goes off – I don’t know he’s taking pictures of me. I start talking to the woman next to me and we’re having a blast making ourselves dizzy. Turns out her husband was sitting next to Ethan!

It was cool, but I like the front of the castle better.

After the fireworks, we head over to Be Our Guest for dinner. Ethan is coming down with a cold. When the chef comes out to take our order, Ethan asks for some raw garlic. The chef comes back a few minutes later and slips Ethan a wadded up paper towel.

We both ordered the Grilled Strip Steak – with garlic-herb butter and pommes frites $33.49. The garlic worked it’s magic and Ethan feels well enough to enjoy our meal.